[This stage is the Pitch Black Labyrinth.]

[The Pitch Black Labyrinth is a battlefield with five challengers.]

[Each challenger is a.s.signed a unique role and must perform the corresponding mission for a limited time.]

[A challenger who does not complete the mission within the time limit will be forcibly transported to the previous stage.]

[Note: If the number of challengers required for the game is not satisfied, the empty seats will be filled with individuals created by the system.]

[You are the Devil Hunter.]

[Please check the note in your hand to confirm the mission’s details.]

Long system messages obscured Woohyuk's eyes.

He was now in the fourth stage.

Soon enough, he would reach the place where the White Wraith King was located.

'But would be pointless for me to face him alone.'

In the past, he had successfully raided the Sand Temple of the White Wraith King.

However, he wasn’t able to defeat the White Wraith King.

'I need the help of Eteria Rodinus to obtain the Sangreal Chronicles.'

The Sangreal Chronicle was most likely a reward that would not be handed out to average adventurers.

Woohyuk suspected that the White Wraith King had been asked by a wiseman from the past to protect the Chronicles.

Therefore, in his past life, Eteria Rodinus would have easily obtained the Sangreal Chronicles without having to fully conquer the ruins.

They were the only ones qualified to receive the relics of their predecessors.

'There must be some sort of reason why the White Wraith King isn’t contacting Eteria Rodinus right now.’

The White Wraith King probably didn’t want to disclose information about the Chronicles whilte the demon king’s army was invading his ruins.

However, he believed that the White Wraith King was paying attention to the current activities of Eteria Rodinus.

While organizing his thoughts, Woohyuk opened the note he was holding in his hand.

[The role of the Devil Hunter is to take over the labyrinth and eliminate the Wraith and the Fanatic who are fighting against enemies.]

[Depending on the situation, the Devil Hunter can fight his enemies by allying with the friendly Priest or the neutral Retired Mercenary.]

[However, the Retired Mercenary has no personal skills, so be careful not to mistake him as the Fanatic.]

In other words, he had to have good discerning eyes and kill only his enemies.

But since Woohyuk considered everyone his enemy, he could attack anyone he met indiscriminately.

However, in order to complete the mission within the time limit, some cooperation with non-hostile roles was necessary.

Woohyuk recalled the past as he watched the note turn into dust and disappear in the wind.

‘I also played the role of the Devil Hunter in the past.'

At that time, it was difficult to distinguish the Fanatic with the Mercenary.

It was difficult for them to prove their role because they weren’t granted any skills by the system.

However, one way or another, he eventually succeeded in identifying all five challengers.

But at the end, the Retired Mercenary betrayed him, and all his efforts were almost in vain.

'This time, I will pay special attention to the Retired Mercenary.'

In addition to the roles given by the system, Woohyuk had to take into consideration the actual interests and goals of the challengers.

The reason the Retired Mercenary betrayed him in the past was because he belonged to another clan.

At that time, several clans were competing for the Sand Temple of the White Wraith King.

'But it's great that I don’t have to watch out for allies this time.'

In the past, he had entered the ruins with his va.s.sals unknowing of the games awaiting them.

He had only brought a few elites with him, and they had entered the ruins while keeping a distance between each other, so he never encountered them as enemies during the games.

However, when he did meet them as allies, there were moments when they were hindrances.

There were one or two times when they barely achieved the mission within the time limit.

Woohyuk walked along the pathways in the labyrinth as he recalled the past.

Swoos.h.!.+

A trap installed on the stone wall about twenty steps away was activated, and a poison arrow flew over Woohyuk's head.

Woohyuk simply avoided it and went to the place where the arrow was shot out of.

'There is a secret pa.s.sage in this labyrinth.'

The only one who knew this fact from the beginning of the game was the challenger with the Wraith role. 

If he used the secret pa.s.sage, he could hide himself for a while or quickly move to another area.

This secret pa.s.sage was an advantage for the Wraith, but it was useless in this game as Woohyuk was already aware of it.

'If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to kill the Wraith early in the game.'

If he came across someone in the secret pa.s.sage within 10 minutes, it would obviously be the Wraith.

With slight excitement, Woohyuk drew an inverted pentagram on the stone wall with a hole.

The pentagram originally symbolized the divine star of David, but the witch cult inverted it and used it for evil magic such as devil summoning rituals.

Rumble.

Not long after the pentagram was completed, some of the stone walls s.h.i.+fted and moved aside.

A secret pa.s.sage emerged, and Woohyuk immediately surveyed the inside.

'I don't feel anything in there.'

The Wraith seemed to have decided to scan the labyrinth’s structure before using the secret pa.s.sage.

Woohyuk regretfully exited the secret pa.s.sage.

Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting metal rang out in the distance.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

An armed conflict had occurred between challengers.

Woohyuk hurriedly dashed towards it.

When he arrived at his destination, he saw a blue-haired male demon and a cat-like beastwoman in a fierce battle.

“I’m telling you, I’m the Priest!”

"Shut up! You’re obviously a demon, so stop spouting nonsense!

Apparently, this incident had occurred because the cat woman was confusing the challenger’s actual race and his role.

Woohyuk swung Grandia and struck away the two weapons.

Clang! Clang!

“I will mediate. So for now, stop fighting.”

“Who’re you to intervene?!”

The beastwoman looked at Woohyuk with slit pupils and hostility.

If he acted suspiciously, she would run at him and attack with her nails.

Meanwhile, the demon man sighed in relief.

“I will explain. Just because this person is an actual demon doesn’t guarantee that he was given the role of Wraith by the system.

“… How do you know that? It's as if you've already experienced this game already.”

"Indeed. Back then, I couldn't complete the mission within the time limit, so I was sent back to the third stage.”

If someone wasn’t lucky during the stages, he would have to keep repeating the first stage up to the fourth stage endlessly.

If he couldn't clear the mission of his current stage, he would be sent to the previous stage even if he had survived until the end.

So if Woohyuk claimed to be an experienced person, the beastwoman would be convinced to some extent.

“Alright, let’s a.s.sume that’s the case… But there’s still the chance that that demon is the Wraith or the Fanatic.”

“The Wraith, Priest, and Devil Hunter can prove their ident.i.ties if they want. They have unique skills that were temporarily granted by the system.”

The Wraith had Shadow Movement and Blood Rhapsody.

The Priest had Sanctuary Barrier and Blessing of the Holy Spirit.

The Devil Hunter had Soul Stigma and Trap Setting.

All of them would be of great help if used properly.

With Woohyuk's explanation, the beastwoman turned and pointed at the demon with her finger.

“Hey, try using something. The Sanctuary Barrier or the Blessing of the Holy Spirit!”

“…Wait a minute.”

The demon man frowned and lifted his staff in a clumsy posture.

‘To think that I’m the Priest...’

Even if the role was given to him by the system, he couldn’t help being unfamiliar with these actions.

As he complained but chanted the spell, a pure white magic circle spread on the floor and a transparent barrier covered them.

“Oho, so you really are the Priest. That’s a surprise."

“It's your turn this time, Beastwoman. Show proof that you’re not the Fanatic but the Retired Mercenary.”

The demon man pointed to the beastwoman with his staff.

The beastwoman stuttered in surprise and astonishment.

“Wha, what should I do? Hey, why doesn’t the Retired Mercenary have unique skills?!”

“To make it difficult to distinguish the Retired Mercenary with the Fanatic.”

The Wraith, Priest, and Devil Hunter could reveal their ident.i.ty if they wanted to.

But the Retired Mercenary and Fanatic couldn’t do that.

Therefore, in this game, there could be several people claiming to be the Retired Mercenary or the Fanatic as these two roles had no recognizable characteristics.

By doing so, there would be overlapping roles, so Woohyuk had to pay attention to these people and observe them at all times.

As Woohyuk taught the gameplay methods of the Pitch-Black Labyrinth in detail, the demon and the beastwoman nodded.

“I, I see. So it’s some kind of psychological game.”

“So everyone will be suspicious of me until the true fanatic gets revealed. That’s a bit annoying.”

This stage was definitely different compared to the previous stages.

This game focused on psychological warfare rather than all-out physical warfare.

Someone who could read other people’s minds relatively easily and who could act skillfully was more likely to win in this stage.

“First, the three of us should move together. That way, we can reduce the chances of each of us being attacked by the Wraith or Fanatic.”

“Wait, did you say you were the Devil Hunter? Then show us one of your skills.”

A beastwoman noticed that Woohyuk had yet to prove his ident.i.ty.

Woohyuk nodded and used the Trap Setting skill.

Then, a small magical device resembling a b.o.o.by trap appeared on one side of the stone wall.

“For your information, this will only damage the challenger with the Wraith role. So it won’t matter if you two try to trigger it.”

“…That’s amazing? The more I discover these ruins, the more amazing it feels.”

A beastwoman observed the magic engineered device and was dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, the demon approached Woohyuk and secretly whispered.

“For now, I’m certain that I can trust you. My name is Levian, a follower of Lord Orobas.”

Orobas was the 55th ranked Demon King.

Therefore, Levian was Woohyuk’s enemy.

But Woohyuk answered back without expressing any hostility or ill will.

“Interesting, I saw someone claiming to be Astaroth’s follower in the previous stage. Is there even Andras’ follower in these ruins?

"Of course. He's probably playing the same game as us right now.”

The three demon kings of the Ars Almadel Circle had sent their own followers to each of the ruins presumed to contain the Sangreal Chronicles.

Woohyuk's eyes lit up at Levian's story.

'Then, if I kill Levian's and Andras' followers, there won’t be any other dangerous enemies within these ruins.'

Andras was ranked 63rd.

He was the weakest of the three demon kings of Ars Almadel, so his follower was probably also the weakest of the three followers.

Before Woohyuk could ask Levian another question, some footsteps resounded in the distance.

Everyone’s eyes turned towards the origin of those footsteps immediately.